The Princess’s Tale: Star of Beijing Playhouse’s Snow White Gives Us a Peek Behind The Curtain

What girl hasn’t wondered what it would be like to be a Fairytale Princess? Actress Kitta Hirvensalo will be playing the princess Snow White in Beijing Playhouse’s musical comedy this December, and she was nice enough to shed some light on what it was like to participate in the play.

How did you get involved in Beijing Playhouse? A: I read about Beijing Playhouse on the Beijinger last year right before the Oklahoma auditions, decided to give it a try and ended up singing and dancing in the chorus for the show. I absolutely loved it so I wanted to go again this Fall!

How big of a time commitment is participating in the play? A: The rehearsals take up a relatively big chunk of one’s time, and preparing for rehearsals (e.g. memorizing lines, learning the songs and doing background work on the characters) adds to that. However, you get many unique experiences as part of a BP production and meet new interesting people, so it almost feels like you become a part of your own little theater family here in Beijing. Therefore, it is worth every second you can give to it.

Do you get stage fright? A: Absolutely! Stage fright never gets old no matter how much you perform, but you don’t really want it to go away either. For me it’s part of the experience and overcoming that fright is one of the best rewards you get from shows like these. To be honest, I was terrified of singing in front of people before Oklahoma, but during the time I’ve been involved with BP I’ve realized it doesn’t matter how many notes you miss. It is actually more fun with others and you have a chance to improve and learn from really talented people.

If you are a volunteer, how much theater experience did you have before Beijing Playhouse? A: I’m a volunteer and I’ve done theater for several years as a teenager, but it’s always been small-scale local productions with encouraging community spirit. Yet I always feel like a newbie on stage as there is so much to learn from the theater veterans.

You can see Kitta perform this December 7-23 on Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM.

For more information about Beijing Playhouse and how you can either get involved or get tickets, visit their website.